The NHL trade deadline for the 2024-25 season is not until March 7, but teams have not waited until the last minute to make major moves.

For every significant trade that occurs during the season, you’ll find a grade for it here, including David Jiricek to the Minnesota Wild, Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks, the Colorado Avalanche and San Jose Sharks swapping goaltenders, Cam Fowler to the St. Louis Blues and Kaapo Kakko to the Seattle Kraken.

Read on for grades from Ryan S. Clark and Greg Wyshynski, and check back the next time a big deal breaks.

Washington State transfer quarterback John Mateer has committed to Oklahoma, he announced on social media Wednesday.

Mateer is the No. 1 overall player in ESPN’s transfer rankings and joins the Sooners after a breakthrough season as the Cougars’ starter in 2024. He’ll have two more seasons of eligibility.

Oklahoma hired Washington State offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle and quarterbacks coach John Kuceyeski earlier this month and was long considered the favorite to land Mateer if he transferred. Oklahoma held off a strong push from Miami to secure his pledge, sources told ESPN.

After backing up Cam Ward for two years, Mateer took over as the Cougars’ starter in 2024 and threw for 3,139 yards and 29 touchdowns on 65% passing. He was one of the top dual-threat playmakers in FBS, ranking sixth among all quarterbacks with 827 rushing yards and scoring 15 rushing touchdowns.

The 6-foot-1, 219-pound redshirt sophomore had a top-10 QBR among Group of 5 starters (71.4) over his 12 starts. The Cougars started 8-1 this season and were as high as No. 18 in the College Football Playoff rankings before closing with three consecutive losses.

After firing first-year offensive coordinator Seth Littrell midway through the season, Oklahoma coach Brent Venables hired Arbuckle on Dec. 2. Mateer resolves a significant need for the program after starting quarterback Jackson Arnold opted to transfer to Auburn.

Mateer, a native of Little Elm, Texas, was lightly recruited out of high school and was committed to play at the FCS level at Central Arkansas before Washington State made a late offer in January 2022.

Washington State coach Jake Dickert accepted the job at Wake Forest on Wednesday, after longtime coach Dave Clawson decided to step down earlier this week.

Dickert and Washington State’s leadership had attempted to negotiate a deal with Mateer to re-sign him for the 2025 season, but the coach said his quarterback wished to “play on a bigger stage” next season.

“John will be the most sought-after player in the portal,” Dickert told reporters Monday. “I think he’s going to be the best player in the country next year.”

In its first season as an SEC member, Oklahoma lost six of eight conference games and went 6-6 in the regular season. The Sooners rank No. 94 nationally in scoring offense at 24.3 points per game, their worst scoring average since 1998. Venables is counting on Mateer and Arbuckle, his rising 29-year-old offensive coordinator, to lead a turnaround in 2025.

Oklahoma will close out its season against Navy in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl on Dec. 27. Freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. started three games this season and was expected to start for the Sooners in the finale.

After Alabama narrowly missed the College Football Playoff in coach Kalen DeBoer’s first season, athletic director Greg Byrne told fans in a letter on X on Wednesday that “now is a time for action” and “time for the Bama Nation to fight back.”

“Although we have been competitive from an NIL standpoint, our competition has us in their sights and are actively trying to surge ahead with NIL,” Byrne said in the letter. “You have heard examples of other teams using promises of million-dollar paydays to lure away our players or convince them not to come to Alabama. It is time for the Bama Nation to fight back.”

The Crimson Tide went 9-3 under DeBoer, a former Washington coach, who replaced Nick Saban when he retired on Jan. 10. Alabama fell 40-35 at Vanderbilt on Oct. 5, its first loss to the Commodores in 40 years, and a 24-3 defeat at Oklahoma on Nov. 23 knocked the Tide out of the SEC championship game.

Alabama was No. 11 in the final College Football Playoff selection committee rankings. The Crimson Tide were left out of the 12-team bracket, however, because No. 12 Arizona State and No. 16 Clemson were conference champions and received automatic berths.

“We have been careful during this transitional period to protect our position at the top of college athletics while being mindful to listen, engage and learn from our generous supporters, proud alumni and unrivaled fans to make sure that we protect our great traditions here at Alabama,” Byrne said. “But there’s a time for talk and a time for action. Now is a time for action.”

Alabama signed the No. 4 recruiting class in the FBS, trailing only Oregon and SEC rivals Texas and Georgia, according to ESPN Recruiting. The Tide flipped quarterback Keelon Russell from SMU and safety Ivan Taylor from Michigan.

Alabama has lost 14 scholarship players to the portal so far.

Defensive tackle Jehiem Oatis, the No. 1 defensive player in ESPN’s transfer rankings, left the program in early October and is transferring to Colorado.

The Crimson Tide also lost starting defensive back DeVonta Smith to Notre Dame.

Four wide receivers — Kobe Prentice (Baylor), Kendrick Law, Caleb Odom and Emmanuel Henderson Jr. — have left the program, and backup quarterback Dylan Lonergan is transferring to Boston College. Running back Justice Haynes has also entered the portal.

Byrne encouraged Alabama fans to give to “Yea Alabama,” the athletic department’s NIL entity, and noted the school was focused “on providing our fans with a legitimate product rather than booster inducements.”

“At Alabama, we’ve not measured ourselves against our competition,” Byrne said. “We are the standard, and that measurement is against the mirror and against a rich and proud history, but it’s impossible to ignore what is taking place in college athletics. Hungry fan bases are acting decisively to give their respective programs competitive advantages. We must respond. We are Alabama.”

The Crimson Tide play Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl on Dec. 31 (noon ET/ESPN, ESPN+).

ESPN’s Max Olson contributed to this report.